Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Prof Mahendra Patel joins national Covid-19 trial as co-investigator

By Priyankur Mandav

SENIOR academic pharmacist Professor Mahendra Patel has advocated greater involvement of community pharmacies in recruiting volunteers from ‘underrepresented’ minority communities for a ground-breaking Covid-19 treatment trial.


Putting pharmacy on the platform at the University of Oxford, Prof Patel has joined the PRINCIPLE trial on treatments for Covid-19 as its national black, Asian and minority ethnic and pharmacy research lead.

Speaking on Friday (September 18) to Pharmacy Businessa sister title of Eastern Eye, he said: “Pharmacists play a hugely important role in reaching out to both patients and public, and at times stretching across a number of generations within one household.

“They are a unique and valuable resource who continue to be under-utilised in terms of their professional skill set and clinical expertise, especially within the community setting.”

The University of Oxford-led trial is currently testing two antibiotics: azithromycin and doxycycline, to see whether early treatment can help over-50s recover quickly from Covid, without needing hospital admission.

It is open across the UK to people aged over 50 with an underlying health condition or anyone aged over 65. Those with symptoms can join online from home or via GP practices across the country, without needing face-to-face visits.

Commenting on his new role as a co-investigator in one of the UK’s national priority platform trials, Dr Patel said: “This is a great opportunity for me to help showcase how pharmacists nationally can play a vital role in supporting this and other trials. Hopefully, this can be a precedence in many ways for greater pharmacy involvement in the future.

“I will also be sharing my many years of experience of working closely with black and Asian minority ethnic groups, to help increase awareness regarding the importance of engaging in the trial within these higher-risk communities, through both community and primary care settings.”

Thousands of volunteers are still needed, especially amongst black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, who are often underrepresented in this type of research but can be at a greater risk of developing a more serious Covid-19 illness.

Delivery of the trial and recruitment of participants is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Networks across more than 800 general practices.

Lead investigator Professor Chris Butler from University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences said: “Like other trials evaluating potential coronavirus treatments, recruiting participants into PRINCIPLE who are at most risk of developing serious illness is the best way to understand whether these treatments are going to be effective.

“Conventional patient recruitment strategies, which rely on utilising established national and regional clinical networks, often fail to reach those who are typically under-represented in health research.”

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less